Online strategy to Blogging | Professional Photography Magazine | Feature
I was interviewed by Professional Photography Magazine and asked to share some advise about how I use my blog to attract business and to explain about my online strategy.
I began blogging in 2007, the same year I set up our wedding photography business. Our blog is mainly a place where we showcase the latest weddings we have shot. It was important to start blogging from the start, the ultimate reason for this was to ensure good SEO and build up traffic to our website.
We have always relied heavily on gaining enquiries through our website and so it is still an integral part of our marketing strategy. Blogging is becoming increasingly more personal it os more an open conversation with our clients and readers than a sales pitch, which I feel is positive step forwards for blogs in general and has in my opinion kept them relevant for todays readers.
I plan to share more personal work and insights into the people who make our company (myself and my husband Scott) so that we connect with like minded individuals and that our clients can get to know us on a more personal level. After all we do share one of the most important days with our couples so it is essential that they feel we are good company as well as provide the service they are looking for.
How did you set up the blog?
Originally I used a Wordpress theme. Scott, my husband and business partner has since built a custom content management system on which I can prepare and publish blog posts with ease.
What’s your blog’s main purpose?
Our blog is a showcase of our latest weddings. Its great for new visitors to our site. Potential clients can really get a feel for the photography we offer and get to see a wedding from beginning to end.
Its also for our existing clients, because many of our couples like to keep up to date with our features. We’ve found our blog is used to inspire others with their wedding plans and ideas. The blog has many more pages, and different content so it’s far reaching, more so the the website itself.
How do you put the posts together?
I take time to prepare them, choosing images that focus on our artistic work, as well as those photos that capture emotion and help tell the story of the day. I think of each blog post as a magazine article and want it to look considered and full of visual impact.
How do you choose what to write?
I try and write a little background to each wedding-perhaps a little about the couple, the wedding day itself and the location, for example. This helps set the scene so our readers connect with the images. I always try to write in a personable tone as if I were talking to a client.
How do you encourage traffic?
I spend a lot of time ensuring that the website comes up for relevant key phrases. Organic SEO has worked for us, but it is time consuming.
